Contestant Setara Hussainzada from Herat City shocks viewers by removing her head scarf and swaying her hips during her final performance. The Idol-like show was already quite a shock to religious leaders who consider pop music anti-Islamic, but its success has become a symbol of emancipation and cultural revivification for women and men.
Month: March 2010
The Only Woman’s Building in Town
Founded in 1973 by artist Judy Chicago, art historian Arlene Raven and graphic designer Sheila de Bretteville, the Woman’s Building was both a psychic umbrella and a physical space, initially housing a feminist art school, galleries, a graphics center and a bookstore. It was a place where women artists, writers and performers were challenged and nurtured at a time when the male-dominated mainstream art world—which Judy called “the big ball game”—would either belittle or ignore them.
Justified: A Western Sans Damsels in Distress
Justified is doing something different. It’s the complicated relationships among the characters and the colorful composition of anger that makes the show worth watching. For example, Rachel is cautioned to be nice when questioning a witness. Must she be angry because she’s the only African American in the cast or will she too have a fully developed back-story? Ava was angry enough to kill. How much more will she feel empowered to do? Winona hints at the simmering nature of her relationship with Raylan when she tells him that he’s the angriest man she’s ever known.
Grrrls-Eye View of The Runaways
The new film The Runaways follows a group of young women who defy social standards and start a band under the “guidance” of a 35-year-old man, record producer Kim Fowley. Drugs, alcohol and manipulation by the sexist, power-hungry Fowley lead to the band’s early demise. Currie retreats to a comfortable cookie-cutter lifestyle while Jett goes on to become a rock legend.
Chelsea King: Life and Death in a Rape Culture
The alleged murderer of Chelsea King, John Albert Gardner, no doubt is an individual manifestation of the rampant sexism in our society that frames women as objects. But his actions need to be considered in relation to a wider glorification of violence. Locking him up will do nothing to punish the larger perpetrator—the accomplice, the enabler—which is society itself.
From the Stacks: Ms. Mary Self-Worth
Ms. Mary Self-Worth, originally printed in the November 1976 issue of Ms., references the Mary Worth comics of the ’40s and ’50s and claims to answer the question, “Can the women’s movement laugh at itself?”
Letter to Elin Nordegren
“No matter how we might personally feel about your husband’s behavior, Elin, we watched with increasing discomfort as the media and his sponsors went from deeming him a chosen one to treating him as a predator. Such punishment for indiscretions reveal that racism is still with us, and you and your multiracial toddlers are caught in the middle of all of this.”
The Alcohol Excuse Just Doesn’t Cut It
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy holidays as much as the next person, but St. Patrick’s Day is one of the only holidays based on binge drinking (besides Purim and the U.S.’s debased version of Cinco de Mayo). It’s hard to get behind a holiday that potentially increases the risk of violence and sexual assault. Obviously alcohol isn’t solely to blame, but its constant presence in rape and assault cases is undeniable.
We Need More Migraine Research
As a result of the lack of federal funding, ‘there has been virtually no innovation in migraine research’ since 1992, said Dr. Shapiro.
Do Young Women Care About Abortion Rights?
Conventional wisdom among women of a certain age holds that young U.S. women aren’t concerned about preserving the rights we fought so hard to secure—especially the right to abortion. What can be done to build cross-generational bridges to make sure this right is protected?